Teens our age around the country are constantly being piled with work from many different classes. Many of these students push their work off to the last minute. This is what we call procrastinating. When students see that an assignment isn’t due for another few days, they will wait to start it until the day of. Some even start a few hours (or maybe a few minutes) before a due date. In this article, we will show you ways people procrastinate, as well as how to stop procrastinating and finally make Mrs. Moore proud.

From a procrastinator’s point of view, we often tend to wait last minute to do our work. What I usually do is either forget about the work or get distracted and not want to do it anymore. In my opinion, once you have looked at the assignment you already are bored by it, so you decide to do something else. I know many other people who do the exact same thing. When you get bored you tend to zone out and want to do something else. 

Some things that procrastinators do are:

1. Eat an obsessive amount of food for no reason.
2. Look at their phones for a very long time.
3. Stare at their computer and not do anything.
4. Take a nap.
5. Do whatever they want and forget about their work.
6. Be lazy and choose not to do it until later.

 Although it is very easy to procrastinate, it is possible to be somewhat stress-free and have your work turned in on time. 

Here are some steps to take to become a non-procrastinator:

1. When you are assigned work, start on it as soon as possible. Whether this is during a free period or at home, this is a very important way to get work done on time. This will help you feel less stressed and not as likely to wait until 11 P.M. to start on an assignment due at 11:59 P.M. 
2. Make a mental (or paper) note of everything you have to do and when it is due. Doing this helps you mentally manage your time to know when you should start on something. 
3. Take breaks when needed, but not for too long. Students feel tired when they work for hours without break. It is important to take breaks between assignments, but not for too long. Be sure to not become distracted and forget about your paper. 

Here at East, we have a lot of students who procrastinate. After asking around, I learned others’ reasons for procrastinating, as well as techniques for how to get work done on time.

Hallie Grim admits that she always waits until the last minute to finish things.

Alyssa Arbaugh says, “Yes, I am a procrastinator, because I get too much work and don’t feel like doing it sometimes.”

According to Caliyah Newsome, “Yes, I am a procrastinator. For example, Mrs. Moore assigns something one day and the next day she assigns something else. I try to get them done on time, but I never do.”

On the other hand, Sheridan Tolley says, “No I don’t think I’m a procrastinator. I do my work during my free time in class.”

“It depends on the project,” says Maddie Carver. “If it’s something that I enjoy doing, then I’m definitely doing it as soon as possible. However, if it’s something I don’t want to do, then it takes me a while to get started.” 

Being a procrastinator or a non-procrastinator depends all on you and whether or not you want to do your work. Procrastinating isn’t the best way to go, so try to get work done at school or before the due date. It will help you out mentally. Next time you have too many assignments to do, don’t just stare at them and do nothing, actually try and get some work done. It will definitely help your grades.